Devotional: Ruth & Mary

I was on the bus heading to downtown Salzburg for our church’s weekly youth group bible study meetup, when I suddenly and out of nowhere started thinking about Ruth and Mary (the Mary). Two women with undeniably significant, if not monumental biblical importance, who ended up playing major, even historical roles in the very lineage of Christ Jesus Himself.

And in my old nature’s still persistent, almost obsessive desire to be ‘special’ for God—perhaps even just as famous as these two women—I thought to myself, “Wow, what did they do to be bestowed such a great calling on?” As if they had ‘earned’ it. Surely they must have done something or acted a certain way or accomplished a specific feat to be selected for receiving such a VIP status. After all, it would be nice to be famous; not even for my own sake but for God’s. (Oh, the contradictoriness in this…) To be known as a name to the world, teaching people about God, helping others to get to know and come to Him. To be such a valuable tool to Him, just as these two women were.

But right at that moment, something shifted in my mind as God imparted a new View, a new Truth to me. It was as if He put His very Own Thoughts and Memories into my head. And I suddenly understood.

These two women I admired, even envied? Neither of them ever wanted to be famous. They didn’t care about fame or being special one bit. The only thing they truly cared for—and I stress, the ONLY thing—was serving God; with all that they had, with all that they were. I had asked myself, “What did these women do to be chosen?”, when the answer was simply “nothing”. They didn’t have to do anything.

Nothing, except surrender.

And realization crashed upon me like a tidal wave.

You don’t become famous by wanting to be famous for God. No, it is precisely because of the opposite—because they wanted to serve Him so fully, completely and sacrificially—that God used them in such an extraordinary way in His Grand Plan. It is like a natural action-reaction pair: The more you surrender to God, the more He Gives you in return. Mary and Ruth didn’t want to be special. They didn’t care about being in Jesus’ bloodline. All they cared for, all they told God, was this incredible desire to serve and obey Him; saying, “I want to serve You with everything that I have and all that I am. Please use me.”

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it.

Jesus in Matthew 16:25 (NIV)

But the craziest part about this revelation was how ALIVE it felt. It wasn’t just ‘learning’ or ‘understanding’ something God showed or told me, no. It was so much more, so much deeper. It was as if I was INSIDE His Mind…as if I was Him and His Thoughts were mine and my thoughts were His. I Truly Saw, Thought, and Felt from His Divine Perspective. An alignment of my mind and His unlike anything I had ever experienced before, as if His Mind was mine and I was Him, HIM, my mind was God’s!

And I was Him and I felt and knew His Thoughts and Emotions towards Ruth and Mary, these two wonderful, precious, beloved daughters of His. So Loving, so much Grace, even… Thankfulness. He delights in giving us huge and important roles when all we want to do is to serve Him alone. I can say this with certainty, for He let me experience His Memories and His Feelings as if they were my own.

God is Thankful when we surrender to Him.

Wow.

Just wow.

Whom have I in Heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You.
Psalm 73:25 (NIV)